*Yoshi-p voice* NIGHTMARE

[humbledsamurai]

WHO: Tsutomu and youuuuu
WHAT: Tsutomu is in the wilderness thanks to the concerning noises he is forming from his night terrors. Perhaps they catch your ear?
WHEN: Sometime after Halloween
WHERE: Somewhere half a day's walk away from the city in the Spring segment, but quicker by airship or teleportation.
WARNINGS: Unsure how much Tsutomu is willing to share of himself to someone he's just met, but if it somehow comes down to it, there could be possible mentions of trauma, abuse, and PTSD behaviors



It starts as whimpers.

A small camp is settled nearby. There's a well built fire pit with a good foundation and surrounded by rocks. Whoever made it clearly has experience with the outdoors. A makeshift tent that's crude yet sturdy lies facing the fire. Next to the tent is a makeshift clothesline, holding up a humble, dampened yukata.

The whimpers grow louder, and turn into concerning groans that can be heard from a distance, likely attracting nearby life or passerbys.

Near the fire are sticks stuck into the ground, sharpened at the tip. One of the sticks has a half eaten fish impaled on it. A meal unfinished. Tsutomu is inside the tent, sleeping atop of a cloth protecting him from the ground. He's wearing his hakama, but his torso is bare, his clothes drying outside. What is he doing here? Why is he out in the wild when a safe and warm apartment waits for him in Nightwake? Why is he so troubled in his sleep?

The groans and whimpers turn into a terrified scream. Tsutomu thrashes about, his eyes kept shut.

Comments

[humbledsamurai]

"Mother..."

The woman gently embraces her son, comforting his trembling state.

"I found you out here." She gently soothes, but it only gives Tsutomu confusion. He wants to ask what she means, but she begins to fade.

"Wait, mother!"

Try to open your eyes, okay?

"Huh? Why would I...?"

Tsutomu jolts awake and gasps for breath. His head is pounding, darting around until he spots a person next to him.

"GAH!"

[orangebrained]

He's expecting a bit of a jolt when the man wakes up but not a yell loud enough to wake several birds sleeping in the surrounding trees. The Miqo'te flinches back from his balanced crouch, yelping slightly as his ass hits the floor and the fur at the end of his tail puffs up in alarm.

"Whoa!"

Then his ears pin back and he looks around quickly.

"Keep your voice down, who knows what's out here."

[humbledsamurai]

"Huh, wha?? Who are you?"

Tsutomu slowly comes to, eyes adjusting to the darkness. As he begins to see, the samurai notices the familiar-looking ears atop a young man.

"...A miqo'te? Why is...am I back in the Twelveswood?"

[orangebrained]

A blink, then a snort.

"The Twelveswood?"

Yes, he knows that there are Miqo'te in the Twelveswood, though he can't for a moment understand why this man would think he was there of all places.

"You're not in the Twelveswood. You fell asleep in the forest and were shouting in your sleep loud enough to draw anything from half a mile away."

And E'kayan's accent, should Tsutomu have enough mental clarity to notice, is distinctly Lominsan.

[humbledsamurai]

"Ah. Oh..." Tsutomu's eyes widen before he turned downcast, greatly disappointed by the miqo'te's answer.

"So I'm in a forest but not the Twelveswood? Then I guess I'm still in Ellipsa."

There's a moment of silence as his holes of everything being a dream were shattered. But the silence is immediately interrupted when Tsutomu realizes what the (apparently Limsan from the sounds of it) miqo'te just said.

"Wait, is that why you're here!? You heard me??" Oh Gods. Oh no. Tsutomu's face is a ruby tomato right now.

[orangebrained]

The level of confusion is perplexing. Did the man really not know where he was..? It must have been quite the nightmare to leave him so unaware of his surroundings. Then the man speaks out again and E'kayan cannot quite help but put a hand to his face in brief agitation.

"I told you, stop shouting. Don't you have any sense?"

He shifts to a more comfortable sitting position and shakes his head, one of his ears flicking as he hears a noise from somewhere in the trees. Not too close, thankfully.

"But yeah, that's why I'm here. Most people would come and look for somebody they could hear yelling in the middle of the night. You could have been hurt."

[humbledsamurai]

Tsutomu buries his face in a palm, desperately trying to hide his embarrassment.

"That's the whole point of me being out here! I'm trying not to be heard by others and attract attention..."

[orangebrained]

Uh... huh. He's clearly not doing a very good job of that, but then, most people aren't out here wandering around to hear him.

"Don't you think you'd be safer if you weren't in the middle of nowhere..?"

As isolated as this is, Tsutomu isn't really giving him the impression of someone who is going to be able to jump up and defend himself if something happens, just now.

"This seems... extreme."