[MODERATED - Player Memory] [CRITERIA: Solve the Puzzle, Defeat the NPC] [RESERVE: Imogen Rainwater]
Suddenly in a part of the world many of the Peckenpaugh students have never seen, the Tanzanian savanna around them seems to go on forever. Endless plains of dry grass scattered sparsely with tall trees beneath an equally endless sky filled with stars so bright and clear one could be forgiven for trying to reach out and touch them. Even if most of the constellations seem a little off. Misremembered. Looking behind them, the group will see a large and obviously magical caravan stationed by one of the trees. Soft light can be seen through every window and the outside is vibrantly painted and decorated with carvings of birds. Large racks and trellises affixed to the outside of the caravan also support a flourishing garden filled with everything from knotgrass to puffapods to flitterblooms, obviously kept by a talented Herbologist. Looking ahead of them, they see...nothing.
At first.
The figure seated in the grass is small and made smaller still by the way he sits, with his head ducked and his legs pulled up to his chest. This much younger Merlin Pletcher, who can't be more than six years old, isn't crying but he has the red puffy eyes and the tear-stained cheeks to suggest that this is a fairly recent turn of events. He doesn't react when one of the caravan's doors opens and a dark-haired girl that looks to be around thirteen slips out into the night. It takes her a moment to spot him, but when she does she heads in his direction and sits beside him, simultaneously pushing something wrapped in cloth into his hands and tilting his head up by the chin. She immediately begins wiping his damp face with a handkerchief and he immediately starts to squirm.
"Mom said that's for you," the girl says, only releasing him once his face is dry and adding, "...You need to come in soon. Get some sleep."
Still riled up from being manhandled, the boy glares at his sister and then down at the item in his hands. It's warm and a small shifting of the cloth reveals a custard-filled bread bun shaped like a tiger, which immediately makes his stomach grumble greedily. He bites off the thing's ear without enjoying the taste much (even though this is one of his favorites) and murmurs in return, "Why?"
"So you can be ready for tomorrow," the girl returns patiently.
Already halfway into another bite, he chews begrudgingly and swallows despite the lump forming in his throat. "...I don't wanna go."
"You need to go."
"...It's stupid."
"Saying goodbye to dad is stupid?"
Nothing. So she tries again. "Merlin."
"Saying goodbye to someone that's not gone is stupid. You don't know where he is. Nobody knows where he is. So you can't say stuff like that! You don't even know...!"
Silence hangs between the pair for a long moment while Merlin glares down at the treat and Kes slips her arm around her brother's shoulder, finally pulling him into a hug. He doesn't resist this and, when she rests her cheek against the top of his head, he doesn't resist that either.
"Then...do it for us. Because we want you there. And when dad comes home you can tell us how stupid we are. Hm?" She punctuates this point with a small squeeze, glancing off into the distance while she waits for an answer. Her eyes are just as red as his and she sounds exhausted. Maybe Merlin can hear it too because he doesn't say anything. He sniffles and wipes roughly at his face and she presses a small kiss against his hair.
"...Except mom," he croaks finally, his small voice almost lost in the breeze that's starting moving through the tall grass.
"Except mom," Kestrel agrees solemnly, then something in the sky seems to catch her attention. "...Draco's out tonight. Did you see?"
Immediately, Merlin lifts his head and looks upward. His dad had shown him that constellation, he knows. Because of course he had. But he can't remember the shape and he can't see it and his eyes feel hot as fresh tears start to well up again. The rising breeze suddenly goes still and so does the scene. Everything is quiet.
MEMORY: Saying Goodbye
[CRITERIA: Solve the Puzzle, Defeat the NPC]
[RESERVE: Imogen Rainwater]
Suddenly in a part of the world many of the Peckenpaugh students have never seen, the Tanzanian savanna around them seems to go on forever. Endless plains of dry grass scattered sparsely with tall trees beneath an equally endless sky filled with stars so bright and clear one could be forgiven for trying to reach out and touch them. Even if most of the constellations seem a little off. Misremembered. Looking behind them, the group will see a large and obviously magical caravan stationed by one of the trees. Soft light can be seen through every window and the outside is vibrantly painted and decorated with carvings of birds. Large racks and trellises affixed to the outside of the caravan also support a flourishing garden filled with everything from knotgrass to puffapods to flitterblooms, obviously kept by a talented Herbologist. Looking ahead of them, they see...nothing.
At first.
The figure seated in the grass is small and made smaller still by the way he sits, with his head ducked and his legs pulled up to his chest. This much younger Merlin Pletcher, who can't be more than six years old, isn't crying but he has the red puffy eyes and the tear-stained cheeks to suggest that this is a fairly recent turn of events. He doesn't react when one of the caravan's doors opens and a dark-haired girl that looks to be around thirteen slips out into the night. It takes her a moment to spot him, but when she does she heads in his direction and sits beside him, simultaneously pushing something wrapped in cloth into his hands and tilting his head up by the chin. She immediately begins wiping his damp face with a handkerchief and he immediately starts to squirm.
"Mom said that's for you," the girl says, only releasing him once his face is dry and adding, "...You need to come in soon. Get some sleep."
Still riled up from being manhandled, the boy glares at his sister and then down at the item in his hands. It's warm and a small shifting of the cloth reveals a custard-filled bread bun shaped like a tiger, which immediately makes his stomach grumble greedily. He bites off the thing's ear without enjoying the taste much (even though this is one of his favorites) and murmurs in return, "Why?"
"So you can be ready for tomorrow," the girl returns patiently.
Already halfway into another bite, he chews begrudgingly and swallows despite the lump forming in his throat. "...I don't wanna go."
"You need to go."
"...It's stupid."
"Saying goodbye to dad is stupid?"
Nothing. So she tries again. "Merlin."
"Saying goodbye to someone that's not gone is stupid. You don't know where he is. Nobody knows where he is. So you can't say stuff like that! You don't even know...!"
Silence hangs between the pair for a long moment while Merlin glares down at the treat and Kes slips her arm around her brother's shoulder, finally pulling him into a hug. He doesn't resist this and, when she rests her cheek against the top of his head, he doesn't resist that either.
"Then...do it for us. Because we want you there. And when dad comes home you can tell us how stupid we are. Hm?" She punctuates this point with a small squeeze, glancing off into the distance while she waits for an answer. Her eyes are just as red as his and she sounds exhausted. Maybe Merlin can hear it too because he doesn't say anything. He sniffles and wipes roughly at his face and she presses a small kiss against his hair.
"...Except mom," he croaks finally, his small voice almost lost in the breeze that's starting moving through the tall grass.
"Except mom," Kestrel agrees solemnly, then something in the sky seems to catch her attention. "...Draco's out tonight. Did you see?"
Immediately, Merlin lifts his head and looks upward. His dad had shown him that constellation, he knows. Because of course he had. But he can't remember the shape and he can't see it and his eyes feel hot as fresh tears start to well up again. The rising breeze suddenly goes still and so does the scene. Everything is quiet.