[Voice] Anyone else in the Pridelands?

[halfdarkened]

[There is a photo snapped by the journal inserted with the voice message. It's of a light-colored young lion with a silver, nearly-full mane. his snout is very close to the lens, and it's slightly fogged.]


[Grumbles] I lose my potions, food, water, munny, minor camping equipment, clothes... And I still have this thing?

Hey, if anyone else is here or has been, Mao and I managed to wind up here. Anyplace that hasn't been explored yet?

Comments

[Voice. Then Hei will get his important stuff once he comes and goes there. Eventually. X3]

[clashingtactics.livejournal.com]

...Halloween Town?

Rule of the what? ...Are you saying the city I'm in now is just one level of something larger?

And I thought this place was called Paixao. [Slow down a bit. His brain can't quite compute everything.]

[halfdarkened.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Holidays come from various hard-to-reach places and the strange people living in them. Who knew.

It's a floor of Castle Oblivion. The floors are larger inside than the castle on the outside. Floors change according to the memories of people here. One floor's my home. ...We're all trapped here.

[clashingtactics.livejournal.com]

A castle? Built of people's memories? [Producing a tone of amazement.] Someone sure put a lot of thought into setting this up.

...I think I already know we are trapped here. Far away from any place I know of. I also spoke to someone else over this computer who said that whoever found a way out never stayed long enough to tell someone.

May I ask who I'm speaking to? I'm Li Shengshun. [Beneath the cover alias, Hei calculates away. The youth sounds like he knows a little more than the man named Squall Leonhart does. The notion of floors of others' past experiences is troubling. Some memories of his are just better left buried.]

Riku's first comment is actually an incorrect assumption.

[halfdarkened.livejournal.com]

That's the Organization for you. They're the ones running this place.

Only a few people have ever gotten out, but it wasn't that hard back then. But if any got out when I got here this time, that's news to me.

Riku.

[clashingtactics.livejournal.com]

[So, he knows about them too... Who else could it be? It doesn't seem that the Syndicate is involved, as they would've kept to themselves if they did. Whoever knew too much would have their memories of that erased...

Li sounds alarmed.] The Organization Thirteen? Is that who you mean? I met a meerkat named Timon who said they have no hearts and have done experiments on people without their consent! And that they create the Heartless creatures too.

What's that? Are you saying you've appeared here more than once, Riku?

Sorry, he's not too talkative. XD;

[halfdarkened.livejournal.com]

Yeah. That's them.

Different rules, but yeah.

Pfff that's okay. Hei actually doesn't mind brief and to the point answers.

[clashingtactics.livejournal.com]

[Now to see if he knows any leads on Yin's whereabouts.] In coming here, I was separated from a friend of mine. We were moving someplace, and she was nearby before I came in through this gate...

Have you seen a silver haired blind girl who has her hair tied back? Her name is Kirsi. I don't know if she's around here or not. I've been the only person looking after her and if something happens... She's someone very important to me, you see.

Well, Riku also wasn't planning on doing a CO intro while looking for help navigating the Pridelands

[halfdarkened.livejournal.com]

...I've seen a blind girl, but not like that. A lot of people get separated coming here.

XD Of course not. Hei wasn't expecting to arrive in the city while on the run from another org.

[clashingtactics.livejournal.com]

[Well it was worth a try. There's a pause that's open for interpretation.]

I thought so, that this must be a common occurrence. On this message board, someone named Tinkerbell had been separated from her friend Peter Pan. A talking hyena had been separated from her clan...

Think of it like asking a guy about a town he was in when he's asking people for directions. XD;;;

[halfdarkened.livejournal.com]

[That brief pause was Riku simply mulling it over.]

Yeah, we get 'em all.

[clashingtactics.livejournal.com]

[Hei files away Riku and everything he's told him he knows is very relevant...and it's just as he feared. But he keeps those strong emotions in check.]

Sure seems that way.

[Now to find out if Hei's other suspicions are correct or not about an old comrade being back from the dead.] So, um, aside from all the trouble of losing your belongings, what's it like being an animal? Has this Mao person you spoke of transformed into a lion also? What form was he before arriving to--wherever it is that you are?

...Sorry in advance. XD;;;

[halfdarkened.livejournal.com]

Itchy. And he's a demon-turned-serval.

...Look. We got no supplies. No food. No water. I can't small-talk right now. We need to go, unless you happen to have any information that could help us. You can ask when I get back or you can ask my friend, Sora on the boards.

It's cool. Hei totally understands... X3

[clashingtactics.livejournal.com]

[Demon? That doesn't sound like Mao Hei knew...unless Riku would think of a contractor cat as one. But he doubts that.

Hei's intending on wrapping this up anyway. It's completely understandable with the other sounding a bit snappish.]

[His final Li response sounds somewhat awkward.] Ah, right! Sorry for delaying.

Unfortunately, I can't help you. All I can do is wish you the best of luck. Be careful over there, both of you.